All-Natural Green Cleaning - Laundry

As a family of five, with two dogs who shed enough to clean up oil spills and at least one nightime diaper leak a day, I wash a lot of laundry.  Note: I wash  it.  I do not claim to fold it.  Instead it rotates between the machine, the kitchen counter, the couch, our bed, the pack-n-play, our bodies, the hamper and back.  Occasionally there's a detour into drawers, but highly unlikely recently.  It's very helpful when Curly runs to the couch to find his clothes and offers Spike one of his shirts along the way.

During my pregnancy with Curly and my 25-week relationship with the toilet, I noticed that the smell of my toxic, vomit-inducing long-loved Tide scent was causing me to heave each time I dried my face with a bathroom towel.    Welcome to the start of my personal green revolution. (Can you hear the angelic music?) 

To avoid reliving those puke-filled days, I banished any artificial scent or chemically induced high from our house.  Bye-bye Tide.  Since then, I've gone back and forth between the "traditional" Borax/Washing Soda mix and Seventh Generation which I can get from Diapers.com.  After seeing the white residue on our dishes, I sai, "No, Hell No, Absolutely NOT" to the dishwasher recipes using Borax. Funny thing, my stomachaches stopped too... It still didn't sit well with me that such ingredient was sitting on my kids' skin.  So I went with Seventh Gen and their 6-pk delivered to my door.

I hate that I'm wasting all that plastic using 6 bottles each time I order and I'd like to save a few pennies here and there so I'm going back to making my own.

After ordering some more Dr. Bronner's - find it here and here - from Amazon, I'll venture out searching for Arm and Hammer's Washing Soda and try this recipe from Passionate Homemaking.  No interest in the Soap Nuts so far...there are enough nuts in my household already...

I'll let you know how it goes!  (What a great excuse to get a cute Mason jar for storing my detergent and scoop.  My MIL has one, but I have no clue where she got it....Mary?)

PS - I do have some OxiClean in the cupboard and I hesitate to use it but sometimes the stains from Poopgate are just too powerful and I quiver in their presence.
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Here's a wonderful way to make your own safe bleach. Except I don't know what to use bleach for. Dope!

Color Safe Bleach via Retro Housewife Goes Green

In a plastic Gallon Jug (I used a old laundry soap bottle, any clean gallon jug will do) add:
2 c. hydrogen peroxide
enough water to fill.

Store covered.

To Use: Soak items in this solution for 10 to 30 minutes.
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The detergent recipe below is a back-up. I found it on TipNut.

Recipe #10 – (Powdered)

1 cup Vinegar (white)
1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup liquid castile soap

■Mix well and store in sealed container.

■I find it easiest to pour the liquid soap into the bowl first, stirred in the washing soda, then baking soda, then added the vinegar in small batches at a time (the recipe foams up at first). The mixture is a thick paste at first that will break down into a heavy powdered detergent, just keep stirring. There may be some hard lumps, try to break them down when stirring (it really helps to make sure the baking soda isn’t clumpy when first adding). I used 1/2 cup per full load with great results.

Brusha!

Took the two little ones to Target today and did major damage. But not to my boys' teeth. As we strolled up and down the aisle, Spike gnawed away on an apple. I was so proud of myself for grabbing that snack on the way out and not relying on the Annie's Bunny Snacks that I knew were in the diaper bag.

Spike was very helpful and picked out a new toothbrush for himself and each of his brothers. Up until now, I've been getting the Oral B Stages brushes because I know they are BPA free.

Inhabitots has a great review of eco-friendly and safe brushes and I think I'm going to take the Preserve route once and for all. They sparkle at me from the Trader Joe's aisles, but I love the idea of a ToothBrush Subscription plan that the boys can look forward to getting in the mail. The price isn't too far off from what I paid today for the Oral B and we're helping the planet keep cavities away too =)

If you want some fun toothbrush songs and a chart to help them (and you) remember to brush twice a day, check this out. We sing ours during breakfast and I make up silly ones while they're actually brushing.

As for toothpaste, we use Tom's of Maine for Mr. P and I and Weleda Children's Gel for the kiddies. I've actually caught Mr. P using it too =)

Toxic America

The Hubsters hadn't seen Food, Inc. yet so we watched it last night while dining. Thank goodness we didn't have chicken...
I'm really happy to see that the toxic bandwagon is getting bigger. Less people are calling me crazy lately...
You may want to know what's in your stuff too. Check out this special on CNN tomorrow and Thursday nights. Great site for information too. Let's hope Sanjay doesn't goof this one up though, like he did when he called Dementia a form of Alzheimer's...

Yum, yum. Vegetable fun!

What's up, Doc?

Peter Rabbit never had it so good.

I've been circling the CSA world for about a year now. Paying careful attention to the costs, the pros, the cons and the local produce wave as a whole. Thanks to a few MOMS Club members with a bit more time than I, I was able to finally wet my appetite and that of my family. Local farm, Tanaka Farms, partnered with the MOMS Club and a few neighbors to start our own CSA being delivered right here in W every Thursday.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture and has been around for over 20 years. According to Local Harvest, a network of 2,500 farms, CSA has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

Originally scheduled for our place with the covered patio and driveway accessibility, we had to move the drop-off/pick-up location due to scheduling. Minor detail. It is no chore to drive 1/2 a mile every Thursday to pick up a cardboard box full of deliciously fresh veggies such as those below.
Seriously, this is just one box.

Tanaka coordinates with over 100 different groups (mostly schools and churches) to deliver seasonal vegetables and fruits picked THAT morning supporting the group through fundraising and perpetuating the simple joy of local farming. Subscribers do not have a choice as to what's in their box, but for $30 ($5 goes to MOMS Club), it's a cost-effective way to feed a family of 4 (or 5 =) with variety and freshness without having to worry about running to the store or contributing to global warming.

We're just finishing up the contents of our first box and it's been almost 2 weeks. We even split our weekly box with another family. I don't think I've ever tasted a salad so fresh, nor have I ever though to use radicchio in anything, including my vocabulary. Mr. P takes some with him to work too.

NurtureBaby has an adorable Nutrition Checklist that I'm hoping to laminate and put out for the boys to reference. Curly is very attentive to the colors of our food and we talk about "Eating A Rainbow" each day, which I got from my teaching days and the USDA's website. Click here to make a customized MyPyramid plan for your preschooler. Blueberries and milk being Curly's two favorite colors to complete, of course..

Clean your plate...yum, yum!

EDITED to add this great video from Jamie Oliver via ZRecs.

Simplicity is in! Toss that bottle!

Life's too short to make too much of a mess. Keep things simple is what my beloved Grandma always says. Course, this woman has 14 grandkids and never forgets an occasion.

Have you seen the website "Simple?" Wonderful entertaining, SAHM moms who also find time for their passions outside of kids. Their reviews are honest and quick to read. Their giveaways are fun and I often find myself regretting having missed the chance. Simple

Here's one that I definitely didn't let lapse - a no bottle shampoo. EthicallyEngineered's NO BOTTLE" Vegan Shampoo and conditioner set. The link to the etsy shop is there as well as the details.

Drea says that the CON to the shampoo is the travel factor, but I've got a plastic soapdish that needs to re-enlist for duty in my travel toiletries bag.

I've been wanting to cut my hair short for awhile and if it will look as shiny after using the product then I'm all in. If it will help me avoid the rat's nests that I often get from using eco-friendly shampoos then anyone who goes out in public with me is all in too =)

Eat this one up!